Bamboo: a great ally of the civil construction

Abstract

Sustainability adoption at the civil construction has been increasing over the years in a search for sustainable alternatives to reduce pollution and waste. One of those sustainable practices which has received great attention in the last few years is the application of bamboo as a raw material. In fact, bamboo has been employed in different areas, such as in the food industry, handicrafts, housewares, and furniture. Its main features are flexibility, durability, lightweight, strength, low cost and versatility, which enable its application at the construction industry. However, its use requires specific treatments, such as fungicide and insecticide, along with careful procedures for harvesting, curing and drying. Therefore, the aim of this research is to evaluate the potential use of bamboo as a building material for the construction industry by means of mechanical tests. Measurements were performed at the Materials Laboratory, School of Engineering from the Mackenzie Presbyterian University, Campus Higienópolis. The analysis was based on two bamboo species, which were chosen after interviewing experts in the field and searching the literature. For comparison purposes, two bamboo species were studied: Dendrocalamus aesper and Phyllostachys pubescens, which were chosen according to suggestions from experts in the field and by searching the literature, especially those contributions based on physico-chemical tests with other bamboo species. Based on the analyzed experimental data, the results evidenced the bamboo species studied herein could be applied to civil contruction. Both species chosen for this work provided suitable mechanical characteristics, since the average compressive strength for the Dendrocalamus aesper species was 83.14 MPa and for the Phyllostachys pubescens species was 97.67 MPa. The tensile strength for the Dendrocalamus aesper was 180.71 Mpa, whereas for Phyllostachys pubescens was 121.88 MPa. These results are in good agreement to the literature, which makes these bamboo species suitable as a sustainable alternative for the construction industry.